Hennessy Advisors Inc. Boosts Stake in Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

Hennessy Advisors Inc. grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) by 23.1% during the fourth quarter, according to the company in its most recent disclosure with the SEC. The fund owned 16,000 shares of the financial services provider’s stock after buying an additional 3,000 shares during the quarter. Hennessy Advisors Inc.’s holdings in Synchrony Financial were worth $1,040,000 at the end of the most recent reporting period.

Several other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also recently modified their holdings of SYF. Larson Financial Group LLC grew its position in Synchrony Financial by 92.7% in the 3rd quarter. Larson Financial Group LLC now owns 607 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $30,000 after acquiring an additional 292 shares during the last quarter. Altshuler Shaham Ltd purchased a new stake in shares of Synchrony Financial during the second quarter valued at $31,000. Quarry LP grew its holdings in shares of Synchrony Financial by 301.3% in the third quarter. Quarry LP now owns 899 shares of the financial services provider’s stock worth $45,000 after purchasing an additional 675 shares during the last quarter. Capital Performance Advisors LLP purchased a new position in Synchrony Financial in the 3rd quarter worth about $50,000. Finally, Venturi Wealth Management LLC lifted its holdings in Synchrony Financial by 36.6% during the 3rd quarter. Venturi Wealth Management LLC now owns 1,662 shares of the financial services provider’s stock valued at $83,000 after buying an additional 445 shares in the last quarter. 96.48% of the stock is currently owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Synchrony Financial Trading Up 1.4 %

NYSE SYF opened at $68.73 on Friday. Synchrony Financial has a 12-month low of $35.29 and a 12-month high of $69.39. The company has a fifty day simple moving average of $66.27 and a two-hundred day simple moving average of $55.97. The company has a current ratio of 1.25, a quick ratio of 1.25 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.06. The stock has a market cap of $26.76 billion, a P/E ratio of 8.97, a P/E/G ratio of 0.76 and a beta of 1.64.

Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF) last issued its quarterly earnings results on Wednesday, October 16th. The financial services provider reported $1.94 EPS for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $1.77 by $0.17. The company had revenue of $3.81 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $3.76 billion. Synchrony Financial had a return on equity of 16.64% and a net margin of 13.98%. The firm’s revenue was up 9.8% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $1.48 EPS. On average, analysts forecast that Synchrony Financial will post 6.53 earnings per share for the current year.

Synchrony Financial Dividend Announcement

The firm also recently announced a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, November 15th. Investors of record on Monday, November 4th were given a dividend of $0.25 per share. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Monday, November 4th. This represents a $1.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.46%. Synchrony Financial’s dividend payout ratio is presently 13.05%.

Insider Buying and Selling at Synchrony Financial

In other Synchrony Financial news, insider Jonathan S. Mothner sold 34,163 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 15th. The stock was sold at an average price of $64.99, for a total value of $2,220,253.37. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now directly owns 127,587 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $8,291,879.13. The trade was a 21.12 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which can be accessed through this link. Also, insider Curtis Howse sold 21,934 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Friday, November 1st. The stock was sold at an average price of $55.13, for a total transaction of $1,209,221.42. Following the sale, the insider now directly owns 99,743 shares in the company, valued at $5,498,831.59. The trade was a 18.03 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. 0.33% of the stock is owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

A number of equities analysts have recently commented on the stock. UBS Group raised their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $58.00 to $66.00 and gave the stock a “neutral” rating in a research report on Monday, January 13th. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upgraded Synchrony Financial from a “neutral” rating to an “overweight” rating and raised their price objective for the stock from $59.00 to $72.00 in a report on Monday, December 9th. TD Cowen increased their price target on Synchrony Financial from $60.00 to $62.00 and gave the stock a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, October 17th. Barclays upgraded Synchrony Financial from an “equal weight” rating to an “overweight” rating and lifted their price objective for the company from $59.00 to $79.00 in a report on Monday, January 6th. Finally, Keefe, Bruyette & Woods increased their target price on shares of Synchrony Financial from $62.00 to $82.00 and gave the stock an “outperform” rating in a report on Monday, December 9th. Seven research analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, seventeen have issued a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the company’s stock. According to MarketBeat.com, Synchrony Financial currently has a consensus rating of “Moderate Buy” and an average price target of $65.45.

Synchrony Financial Company Profile

Synchrony Financial, together with its subsidiaries, operates as a consumer financial services company in the United States. It provides credit products, such as credit cards, commercial credit products, and consumer installment loans. The company also offers private label credit cards, dual co-brand and general purpose credit cards, short- and long-term installment loans, and consumer banking products; and deposit products, including certificates of deposit, individual retirement accounts, money market accounts, and savings accounts, and sweep and affinity deposits, as well as accepts deposits through third-party securities brokerage firms.